So you have your first international flight booked. The occasion might be for your upcoming European river cruise or a swing through the Mediterranean.  You’re excited to see places read about in books, magazines and seen on television and in films; in person.  A degree of confidence comes from knowing that cruise vacations, regardless of the cruise line or destination, are inclusive by nature. Scouring the cruise line website or devouring pre-cruise information sent you’re familiar with the program, once there.  Airline websites have helpful information too, but international flight is a far cry from driving to the port.  To calm down that apprehension, we have international flight tips gained from frequent flights across the pond that absolutely do work for us.

It is entirely possible to have the same confidence about getting to the international point of embarkation as we do on close-to-home places.  In this post we focus on European sailings because they are the logical next step after the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexico or Alaska where getting to the port means a domestic flight. Travelers who normally drive to the port; you’re another topic entirely and we’ll get to you later.

Frankly, an international flight is a huge, quantum leap from a drive to your local homeport or short flight around North America. But that does not mean it has to be scary and rewards are totally worth it.  Simply put: Taking that leap to international travel can literally open up the entire world for us, much like the world of cruise vacations has opened up travel in general to so many who might not have experienced it otherwise.    Hang on to that thought; it’s important and odds are you will need to refer to it from time to time during your journey.

Pre-Flight Planning

Part of the trick to enjoying an international flight comes from some must-do preflight activities.

• A Good Strategy For Occasional Travelers- Book as far in advance as possible and with as few stops as possible. That just makes the long travel day a bit shorter. For occasional travelers, this is much more important than for those who do it frequently and are used to the routine of international flights.
• Allow Plenty Of Time Between Connections– On domestic flights we want 2 hours between connections to allow for flight delays on either end, especially in the winter and especially if passing through an interesting airport. On international flights we bump that up to a preferred 3 hour window of time between flights.  That extra hour is because international flights begin boarding an hour before departure and a re-check of your passport is normally required.  The airline is not going to let that flight leave unless they know all passengers on board will be able to enter the country they are flying to.  Another good reason to leave plenty of time between connections is so that your checked luggage can also make it to the next flight, along with you.  We learned this lesson the hard way, barely making a very close connection in Miami, running to the next gate.  It never crossed our minds that our luggage might not have had the same sense of urgency until we got to Barbados and it did not.
• Lock Down The Documentations Needed–  At the same time the booking is made, find out any special documentation you might need to board the ship.   On rare occasions, travelers might be required to satisfy special entry requirements. U.S. citizens normally don’t need more than a U.S. passport for most European river cruises or Mediterranean ocean cruises. An upcoming sailing I have on Azamara Club Cruises begins and ends in Istanbul.  I needed a visa for that and got it in about 2 minutes online, $20.  Still, all cruise lines and travel agencies are all quick to point out that it is the traveler’s responsibility to be sure and have the correct documentation.  Try to board without it and undocumented travelers will be turned away, given no refund and left on their own to get back home.  A good source to figure that part out: The U.S Department of State’s Safe Traveler Program which offers all the information needed to enter and experience any given country in the world.
• Protect Your Trip with travel insurance.  Even if you don’t care about the investment made in the travel itself, accidents happen and can add up to $thousands before you know it.   See Travel Insurance: If Not Full Coverage, Medical-Only Is Kind Of A No-Brainer for more.  I rolled the dice, cruise after cruise, electing to skip the recommended travel protection offered by cruise lines and independent third-party companies.  I was one of those people who believed “I saved enough money on travel insurance to pay for a cruise over the years”, and had no use for it.  Traveling frequently though, I bought an annual medical-only coverage plan just to be safe, for about the same price as cruise line insurance on one sailing.
• Focus on getting plenty of rest and eating right several days before the flight. Sure, maybe we can’t “bank” sleep but starting a long flight with a full tank of rest is always a good idea. International flights to Europe almost always require an overnight flight which you may or may not be able to sleep on.  If the budget allows, increase the odds of a good night’s sleep by booking business class air with seats that lay down completely flat.  A paid upgrade from economy to economy plus with more legroom can be a good value too.
• Finish packing a week in advance- that offers the opportunity to be sure critical items are packed and allows time to get source those items if they were not packed first time around.  Be sure to identify your luggage with something that will make it easy to see in the airport baggage claim area.  Easy for us when sailing with Viking River Cruises who provides bright red leather Viking River Cruises tags in the pre-cruise documentation package.
• Consider Traveling With Carry-On Luggage Only- This is one of the most difficult hurdles to get past for occasional travelers and is especially hard for those who drive to the port and have no restrictions on the amount of luggage they take on the ship.  Still, keeping your luggage in your possession for the entire journey absolutely eliminates one of the biggest sources of apprehension for occasional travelers: waiting to see if their luggage made it to the destination.  See Travel With Carry-On Luggage Only: Here’s How for more.  We do this on every single trip, without exception, regardless of where we are going or for how long.
• Charge! Bringing along electronic devices for entertainment on a long flight is a good idea.  Having back up power to charge all those devices is a good idea too.  Some seats may have plugin power available but determining if yours does or not in advance of flying can be hard to do.  For that we suggest the Hyperjuice Magic Box which can power just about anything, multiple times  See Travel Gear Review: HyperJuice Magic Box for more.  This is a topic much more economically handled in advance rather than at the airport.  In fact, recharging devices at an airport charging station may put you in danger.  See Travel Security: Meet Juice Jacking for more.